THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 3.18

PILGRIMAGE TO THE MOTHERSHIP… OR FIVE STATES IN FIVE DAYS…

colorful highways

With the White Mountains at our backs we hook it across Vermont towards New York State.  We opt for the back roads through the Green Mountains instead of the interstate highways.  The fall colors are a variety of turning to peak and the quaint towns seem to say, “Come back when you can stay awhile.”

no time to dally…
we're on a mission!

We make it to The Arrowhead Marina and RV Park just past Schenectady.  This is a real pretty park right on the Mohawk River.  We get a full hook-up site at the far end along the river, so the advertised free WIFI does not connect.  Whoever designed this park must have liked circles, as most of the sites are back in, like spokes on a wheel.   A nonissue for all the rigs with no back windows but we get views of everyone’s ass.   It is also in close proximity to a busy rail corridor and a non-gated crossing so there is a lot of rumbling and train whistles throughout the night.   It’s an ok spot to stop for the night, but not sure that we would come back for an extended stay in the area.

View from the passenger seat

NY state @ 70mph

We choose the southern route (SR 17 & across New York State because: A) the toll on the northern route will cost almost $30.   And B) the gas mileage differential is $10.00 more for the southern route. Quick math: $20 savings.  More fall colors as we pass the New York countryside and the return of the occasional roadside billboard. (New England prides itself on limiting these advertising goliaths and Maine and Vermont actually ban them.) The route takes us along the NY/PA border and we cross into Pennsylvania for about five minutes.  We stop in the southwestern area of the Finger Lakes near the western shore of Keuka Lake at Camp Elmbois.  Another beautiful campground; with ponds, free use of paddleboats, trees and grass, water and electric hook-ups, dump service and great WIFI.  It is also just down the road from the three wineries that were recommended by Wendy & Tom (a great couple we met back in Lubec, ME.) 

Dr. Frank's

Vineyards and Keuka Lake

After setting up we head over to Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellar, New York’s most award winning winery to do a little tasting. They also claim to have the second oldest old vine pinot noir vineyard in the nation.  After excessive tasting (and re-tasting) we choose a 2012 Pinot Noir, 2012 Cab Franc and a Salmon Run Meritage The Pinot and Cab Franc would probably do well after a few years in the cellar, but since our “cellar” is the space under the fridge – we’ll compensate with the Vinotemp.  We also get a bottle of their Blanc de Noirs, a sparkling vintage from Pinot Noir grapes. It’s a fruit forward rollercoaster on the tongue and a dry finish with a pucker.

We stay one day in the Keuka Lake area. The weatherman lied. It is supposed to be sunny and warm and it’s cloudy and windy.  More wineries are on our agenda today.  Bully Hill is another recommendation. It’s $1 per pour for full menu tastings or $5 for 5 from a limited menu and a commemorative wine glass: The pours are exceptionally stingy and the cost of tasting is not applied to a purchase. Yesterday at Dr. Franks we observed an unpleasant tarry chemical finish in all of their white wines, it was not too pronounced in their reds.  Here at Bully all of their wines both white and red have the same note, but more intense.  When we discussed this with our server, his comment was, “Welcome to New York, did you get lost on your way to California?”  We laughed, “We are from California.” He gave us two complimentary tastings of some of their signature wines, but they still had the same note.  Oh well, we tried…

Walking to the parking lot the smell from their smoker assaults us and we immediately turn to the restaurant for lunch.  Since we’re not enamored with their wines, we order a couple of local brews.  Interesting, these also have that same tarry chemical finish… so it must be the water, or the soil or the air here.  Weird…  We order a couple of the specials: The Sauerbraten is, juicy and tender with sides of braised red cabbage and potato salad, a delightful meal. The Oktoberfest Sampler comes with smoked pork, smoked sausages, sauerkraut and Pierogies. Neither of the smoked meats have any real smoky flavor.  The sausages are pretty pedestrian, the smoked pork is two thin boneless pork chops that you need a chainsaw to cut. Ray Chainsaw Sawyer Murphy could saw the Ten Commandments on these babies.  The best part of this meal is the Pierogies they have just the right amount of crunch on the outside and a creamy potato filling.  The views of lake Keuka are great.   At this point we’re not ready to face any more disappointment so we call it a day.

Back at camp, owner Dave and Sheila invite us to come out drinking and dancing with them… we are so tempted, but we know us… we’ll go out drinking, wake up not feeling like traveling… extend another day… and…. before you know it, it’s November… as painful as it is, we have to keep to the plan.

It’s raining again.  We want to just say, “Screw this!” Extend our stay and wait out the storm.  But, we dilly-dallied way too long in New England and we have to keep pushing on.  The weather breaks mid morning and we get back on the Southern Tier Expressway and head out across New York toward Lake Erie. We’re driving into a heavy head wind, which makes us really glad we chose Airstream!  Still lots of fall colors and pretty scenery, but it fades as we approach PA.  We get to the western end of the Southern Tier Expressway and follow onto I90 across the western end of Pennsylvania along the shore of Lake Erie.  Before you know it we’re in Ohio stopping at the Indian Creek Camping Resort in Geneva.  We get a full hook-up pull through on the end by a pond.  They charge for WIFI, so we pass on it. It’s pretty for a mega resort and great for a one-nighter.

Next Stop THE MOTHERSHIP!  There is an unwritten rule that every Airstream owner needs to make at least one pilgrimage to the Airstream Factory in Jackson Center, Ohio.  It is the best place to have body work done with a full warranty, so lots of people bring their dented and ripped Airstreams to the factory to be made new again.

Rural Ohio

The village of Jackson Center sports a population of about 1,500 people and 315 of them work at Airstream.  Reading on-line reviews of Airstream one gets the impression that this is the center of nowhere. Yeah, its rural here, surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans but this is just small town America and there is plenty of “civilization” within an hours drive or less in any direction. We spend a couple of nights at the Terra Port, (Airstream’s on site RV Park.) It’s free if you’re having work done and $10 for Airstream geeks who just want to visit and take a factory tour.  We fall into the latter category. 

Vintage Parade

 The factory is surrounded by Airstreams.  It’s a sea of silver bullets, some shiny and others not so much.  A line of vintage units, including Wally Byam’s gold trailer are displayed out front.   Behind the service center, customer units wait for repairs (some with pretty big ouchies.) and more vintage trailers await renovation. We actually recognized one trailer from California with a huge tear in the right rear corner.  Two months ago we saw this unit pull in when we were in Lubec.  (We didn’t get a chance to meet them before they left the next day.) We’re really not surprised to see it here, since it takes 2 months to get an appointment for repair.

Welcome!

End Caps A Waiting

The factory tour starts with a brief history of the plant.  Since we will be entering a busy manufacturing facility, visitors must wear closed toe shoes, earplugs and safety glasses.   Airstreams are built entirely by hand.  The only automated process we see is one robotic arm drilling the rivet holes and cutting out the windows and doors in giant sheets of aluminum.  Everything from the laminates on the cabinets to the riveted bodies is constructed without the aid of robotics or conveyor systems like other manufactures. Just men and women with hand tools. Even the trailers are moved around the plant by hand or forklifts as they near completion.  It appears to be a complicated crowded maze and the tour takes us right through the middle of this organized chaos.  They currently produce approximately 150 trailers a month in their 135,000 sq. ft.  facility and have a backlog of about 600 units.  No wonder they just announced a $5.9 million expansion project to add 94,000 sq. ft. by 2015 and 125 jobs over the next three years.

Airstream Body Assembly

Well, we have now visited the birthplace of our darling Dimples. Four years ago this month we ordered her… time sure flies when you’re having fun… and we sure are!

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THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 3.17

THE COLORS ARE HERE… THE COLORS ARE HERE!

Every day we head out to view the ever-changing botanical pigments.  We see the colors go from turning - to moderate - to peek.

The east-west route: highway 112, known as the KancamagusHighway, (AKA the Kanc) is 56 plus miles of uber scenic and mountainous sections of the White Mountain National Forest between Bath and Conway, NH.  This is also known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas of the country. No wonder as the colors intensify the traffic increases:

North- South: U.S. Route 3 runs from the Canadian Border through New Hampshire to Cambridge, MA. In this part of Hew Hampshire it’s known as the Daniel Webster Highway.  This is another scenic and very popular route from North Woodstock through the Franconia Notch State Park as it runs along the Pemigewasset River. “The Famous Old Manof the Mountain” used to be here. Word has it that he collapsed and fell into the lake in May of 2003, but considering the alien activity in the area there may be another explanation for his disappearance.  But there’s still Mount Pemigewasset AKA Indian head.

Indian Head

There are also more covered bridges to explore:

We stop at the Basin, a favorite attraction in Franconia.  Here a small waterfall travels sideways into a large pothole 30 feet in diameter and 15 feet deep. From here we hike up the Basin-Cascades Trail that parallels the Cascade Brook.  The trail is rocky and root filled, but the wide granite creek bed is easy to traverse.  Along the way we meet a group of Amish folks.  These three couples are celebrating their 30^th wedding anniversary. They are a friendly group and we talk about wanting to see what’s around the next corner and knowing when it’s time to turn around.  Just below the Kinsman falls they decide to head back and we continue on…

Cascade Brook

Plain Folk on the trail

Cascade Brook

Kinsman Falls

Rock of Ages
Granite Quarry

Since we haven’t quite gotten enough fall color we take a side trip over to Vermont, to check out Montpelier.  On the way we stop at the Rock of Ages granite quarry and take a tour of the quarry and a self guided tour of the fabrication plant.  Rock of Ages is best known for creating memorials (AKA Grave Stones) but we are surprised to learn that they also create solid surfaces for precision and industrial applications.  (Like the precision grinding of the Hubble Telescope lens.)

Capitol of Vermont

In Montpelier we shoot the capitol and then break our rule about not eating Mexican food east of the Mississippi and grab some lunch at Julios Cantina. Sometimes you just have to break the rules. Especially when it’s a beautiful fall day and there’s alfresco dining, where we can kick back and enjoy the view of folks heading to and from the farmers market while listening to a street musician strum his guitar.

They are out of Negra Modelo  L so we opt for a couple of Tecates. The complimentary chips are fresh and the accompanying salsa flavor full but lacking heat.  Our waitress brings us some of their “hot” salsa; that still needs a generous addition of Cholula Sauce to spice it up.  With low expectations we order their Chicken Chimichanga plate and a couple of Street Tacos.  The Chimichanga is crunchy, not greasy with plenty of well-seasoned fillings, so the lack of heat can be forgiven.  The sides of black beans are also tasty and better after we added a generous scoop of salsa. The Steak and green chili street taco was tender and delicious.  The Chicken, Chorizo and Goat Cheese Street Taco was absolutely perfect: spicy, tangy and a real surprise. 

As we are finishing up a trio of tourists are seated next to us.  They ask us “What’s good here?” We recommend the Chicken & Chorizo Street tacos. They’re originally from Vermont but now reside in Phoenix, AZ and like us, are leery of Mexican cuisine in the east.  We joke about miserable Mexican food in Boston and they ask, “Were they baked Beans?”

On our last day here we head back to the Flume Gorge, this time schlepping our tripods to reshoot the gorge.

Avalanche Falls

Cascade Bridge and Pool

Cascade Bridge top

September is now over… the colors are fading… temperatures are dropping… time to start the pilgrimage to the Mother Ship…

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 3.16

COVERED BRIDGES, BOULDER CAVES, AND CABER TOSSING...

We check out of the Country Bumpkins and move 20 miles away to the Twin Rivers Campground, Cottages and RV Park in Bath.   It’s a nice park, with full hook-ups and great WIFI.  They also have access to over a mile of the Wild Ammonoosuc River a well-known spot to pan for gold. Their campground store also stocks all the equipment and prospecting supplies to strike it rich.

We forgo the gold panning (much too cold right now) and head over to check out the local covered bridges: 

Bath- Haverhill Bridge

The Bath-Haverhill Bridge constructed in 1829 is the oldest covered bridge in New Hampshire.  It was in continuous use until 1999 when it was closed to vehicular traffic but foot traffic is still allowed. 

Bath Bridge

The Bath Bridge built in 1832 is still open to vehicular traffic. A three million dollar 22-month renovation was just completed in August of 2014. From the exterior the bridge looks brand new, but much of the original structure is visible from inside the bridge.

Swiftwater Bridge

The Swiftwater Bridge erected in 1849 is open to vehicles with a 6,000 lb. limit.  It is located along a section of the Wild Ammonoosuc River that was used to float logs to a sawmill.  Occasionally logjams would endanger the bridge.  Once someone had the bright idea to break up the logjam with dynamite.  The blast was successful. However, logs had to be removed from the roof of the bridge.

The Brick Store

Just around the corner from the Bath Covered Bridge, TheBath Village Center is the social and economic heart of the town.  We stop by The Brick Store: Considered America’s oldest continually operating general store dating back to 1790.  Here we meet owner Mike Lusby an East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) transplant and New Hampshire resident for over 20 years.   Although the store carries the assorted sundries found in most general stores, their specialties are smoked meats and cheese done up in a smoker in the alley next to the building by Mike’s brother Jim and 140 different flavors of fudge created by Mike’s wife Nancy.  After trying the free samples of their goodies we leave with some zesty smoked pepperoni and cheddar cheese.  We made homemade pizza with the smoked pepperoni & cheese and it was so mouth watering, we had to return before leaving New Hampshire to pick up more.  We’ll have to mail order from them when we run out again.

At The Hop
no surface left uncovered

Next to the Brick Store is At The Hop a 50’s style ice cream parlor and gift shop also owned by Mike.  The shoppe sports a huge collection of rock and roll memorabilia, (most of it autographed and addressed to Mike) that covers almost every surface of the parlor, (only the black and white checkerboard floor is exempt.) We are examining the musical miscellanea, (much of it is personally autographed “to Mike”) when Mike comes into the shop and tells us a bit about how the collection started during his tenure an almost-made-it rocker in the 60’s and 70’s and continues during his current musical avocation as drummer for The Rocking Chairs since 2004. 

We journey onto the next shop along the commons: The American Heritage Gallery of Art where artist Craig Pursley operates a Studio and gallery.   When we enter through the front door, Mike is here telling Craig about a couple from California who sold everything and travel around in an Airstream.  (We didn’t realize that there was a side door into the gallery from the ice cream parlor.)  Mike owns this building too, which completes his trifecta of Bath Village businesses.  We enjoy chatting with both Craig and Mike about their experiences as California transplants in New England.  They both expressed that the folks in New Hampshire were warm and welcoming when they first arrived and feel that they are part of a community with the caveat that they will always be “from away.”  Craig told us about a funeral he recently attended for a 95-year-old man who moved to New Hampshire when he was 2 years old and then lived here all his life.  His eulogy began with, “He was not from around here…” Craig is an amazing artist.  Check out some of his work;  Click Here!

Lost River Gorge

The Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves is located between Bath and North Woodstock on route 112.  This steep walled glacial gorge is partially filled with immense blocks of granite.  These jumbled boulders form cracks, which may eventually become Boulder or Talus Caves along the walls and bottom of the gorge.   The river disappears under the rocks and reemerges cascading over and under until it finally emerges and joins the Pemigewasset River. The gorge is accessed via a boardwalk and some of the “caves” that allows us to follow the river as it appears and reappears.  The caves would be fun if we were twelve years old or masochistic contortionists, but since we’re neither, we only venture into the ones with a larger than 2 ft. openings.  The boardwalk is impressive and winds over and along the gorge. Without it a visit would consist of rock climbing 101. 

The Pageantry

And the Power

The New Hampshire Highland Games are held for three days over the third weekend of September and this year is the 39^th festival.  This is the largest Scottish gathering and festival in New England. We head up to Loon Mountain to check out the festivities.  Parking is scattered around the town and shuttle busses take us to the park.  Everything is slick and efficient.  (Guess it's to be expected after 39 years.) Its freezing cold and overcast… pretty appropriate… feels like we’re actually in Scotland.  The opening ceremony and massed bands is stirring as hundreds of kilt clad pipers and drummers march into the field. Then the officials and dignitaries make all their speeches… blah blah blah… We head over to the Heavy Athletics and watch some Caber Tossing (Now that’s some heavy athleticism!)  There are tents with Scottish foods, so we grab a couple of Scotch Eggs and some of cups of soup.  Then we head to warmer areas and listen to some music:

Searson: A Canadian band fronted by Sisters Erin and Colleen Searson deliver high energy a blend of Celtic, East Coast and Scottish fiddling, passionate vocals and toss in a bit of step dancing.

The Brigadoons: A Scottish band that plays a peppy brand of traditional Celtic music, with a few twists.

and 

Albannach: an exciting Scottish tribal drumming band that blew us away. 

After the games, we can move back to the Country Bumpkins Campground… YEA!  Every day is now spent checking out and photographing the fall foliage and a few more covered bridges...

THE ADVENTURES OF DAVE AND DIMPLES VOL 3.15